1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flashlight, more particularly to a flashlight with a tail cap switch assembly that is simple in construction, and that can be mass-produced at a reduced cost.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional flashlight mainly includes a head cap, a barrel having a front end coupled threadedly with the head cap, a bulb holder disposed inside the barrel, and a tail cap coupled threadedly with a rear end of the barrel. The barrel is rotatable relative to the head cap so as to control on/off operations of the flashlight. The tail cap is also rotatable to control the on/off operations of the flashlight due to arrangement of a tail cap switch assembly disposed in the tail cap. A conventional tail cap switch assembly has one end connected electrically to a spring that abuts against a battery unit disposed in the barrel, and an opposite end projecting from an open rear portion of the tail cap to form an operating portion. When the tail cap is rotated to translate forwardly relative to the barrel, electrical connection is established between the barrel and the battery unit, which will be broken by rotating the tail cap to result in rearward translation. In addition, when the operating portion is pressed, temporary electrical connection is established, and is interrupted upon release of the pressure applied on the operating portion. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional tail cap switch assembly 1 is shown to include a push button cap 11 that is formed from metal, and that has a conductive annular flange 12 at an intermediate section thereof such that, when the push button cap 11 is disposed in a tail cap member 2, the annular flange 12 is retained by a radial inward flange 21 of the tail cap member 2, and is prevented from slipping through an open rear portion of the tail cap member 2. The outer surface of the push button cap 11 is coated with an insulation material 13 to prevent electrical contact between the push button cap 11 and the surrounding wall of a barrel 3. A coil spring 8 has one end disposed on the push button cap 11, and an opposite end abutting against a battery unit 5 disposed in the barrel 3 for establishing electrical connection between the battery unit 5 and the push button cap 11. The push button cap 11 further has an operating portion projecting through the open rear portion of the tail cap member 2.
However, the above-described construction is deficient in the following aspects:
1. Since the push button cap 11 is a solid block of metal, it requires laborious machining. Hence, mass production thereof is difficult.
2. As the push button cap 11 has to be coated with an insulation material 13 in order to prevent electrical contact with the surrounding wall of the barrel 3, the manufacturing process is complicated and costly.
3. Since the entire push button cap 11 is utilized as an electrical conductive element, material costs are relatively high.